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Anyone who has watched the evening news pictures
of our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have surely seen
the Trijicon ACOG gunsight
atop the M-16 and M-4 rifles carried by our elite fighting units
of the US Army and Marine Corps. The ACOG has proven itself in
battle to be an accurate, tough, durable, and reliable scope
sight. These sights are the preferred equipment of the troops
who can get their hands on one, and they are becoming more
prevalent on the battlefield daily. I own two of the ACOGs, and
have found them to be an ideal scope sight for AR-15 and AR-10
rifles that are set up for social work, and they can also serve
well for hunting.
The ACOG is a very compact scope, and the
reticles are calibrated for either 5.56mm or 7.62mm NATO
cartridges out to 600 meters for some models and 800 meters for
others. All ACOGs have tritium illumination for the aiming point
of the reticle for operation in all lighting conditions, even
complete darkness, without ever needing batteries. Some ACOGs
also incorporate the Bindon Aiming Concept (BAC), which
brightly illuminates the reticle in daylight for quick use with
both eyes open.
The ACOG achieves its compactness from a prism
arrangement, and uses a very heavy duty aluminum housing that
can withstand a lot of abuse. While "tactical" and
"mil-spec" are highly overused terms these days, they
do apply to the ACOG. It is a serious piece of equipment for
those whose lives depend upon their equipment working properly,
every time.
While most ACOGs are of four power
magnification, which can greatly increase the hit potential of
the weapon at extended ranges, sometimes no magnification is
better. For distances that are best measured in feet instead of
yards or meters, a simple red dot with no magnification is
quicker to use. Apparently, some Special Forces units were
mounting red dot sights atop their ACOGs for use in
house-to-house fighting, where getting a rifle into action
quickly when clearing out a room is the task at hand.
Trijicon is now building an ACOG with a red dot
sight from Docter Optics mounted on top. This red dot
sight is not to be confused with the cheap junk that can be
found at gun shows or in discount catalogs. The Docter Optics
dot sight is also a serious and rugged piece of equipment. It is
also built to withstand abuse. Its dot is powered by one readily
available 2032 lithium battery, and subtends three and one-half
minutes of angle. The sight is easily adjusted to point of aim
by two screws. The Docter sight has no on/off switch, and it
never turns completely off. However, the darker the environment,
the dimmer the light becomes, as it should. The Docter has a
plastic cover that puts the sight in "sleep" mode,
simulating total darkness. In this mode, the light is so dim
that Docter claims a battery life of four years in this mode.
The ACOG/Docter combo sight provides what is
perhaps the ideal battle sight for all conditions. I tried the
sight on an AR-15 chambered for the 5.56mm NATO cartridge, and
also on my .50 Beowulf AR.
This model of ACOG has the reticle with the BAC, and the center
portion of the crosshair is illuminated at all times. It works
very well in bright daylight and also in total darkness, in open
fields and in deep hardwoods. In every condition in which I
tried the ACOG, the center crosshair was visible. The reticle on
this model is meant to be sighted in at 100 meters, and has
aiming points marked at 100 meter intervals out to 600 meters,
regulated for the current 5.56mm NATO cartridge. The Docter red
dot I sighted in to be dead on at 40 yards, and its dot was
visible also in all lighting conditions from bright daylight to
total darkness, and everything in between. I love the fact
that both the ACOG and the Docter sight get dimmer as the light
fades. Some lighted sights stay too bright in dim light, and
practically blind the user to his surroundings. This sight does
not have that flaw. The lighted crosshair and the dot are
regulated to the existing conditions.
The reticle in the ACOG is similar to the one in
this graphic:
The difference is that the graphic above shows
the center crosshair lighted only at night. However, the ACOG
examined here also has the BAC fiber optic unit that lights the
reticle at all times. I attempted to get a picture of the
reticle in use, but due to the limitations of my camera, it
would not focus properly on the reticle, so I included the
graphic from Trijicon’s website. The reticle is very easy to
use, and quick to get on target. There is no need to worry about
holdover at extended ranges. As long as you know the distance,
just hold on the proper aiming point, and press the trigger.
The new TA31DOC weighs just over sixteen
ounces, including the mount. It is a tough, reliable, and
very useful gunsight for any condition. It is perfect for a home
defense rifle, and would also serve very well for
hunting game animals from arms length to a couple of hundred
yards. Check out the prices and specifications on this and
other Trijicon products online at: www.trijicon.com.
The ACOG/Docter combo sight ain’t cheap by any
means, but when you need a quality sight for a serious purpose,
it is worth the price. If it is good enough for the best
military fighting units in the world, it is good enough for me.
I highly recommend it.
Jeff Quinn
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Click pictures for a larger version.
Trijicon's TA31DOC ACOG Gunsight with Docter Optic Red
Dot Sight.
Jeff considers the Trijicon TA31DOC perfect for both
"Homeland Security"
and hunting applications.
Fiber optic BAC allows the reticle to be illuminated at
all times.
ACOG has precise but rugged adjustments.
TA31DOC has a mount to fit a "Flattop's"
receiver rail.
Integrated Docter Optic Red Dot Sight allows for quick
and accurate shooting when no magnification is necessary.
When not in use, covering the Docter sight puts it into
"sleep mode".
Trijicon's TA31DOC ACOG Gunsight with Docter Optic Red
Dot Sight - the ideal sight for a battle rifle.
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